Hosiery feeder



June 29, 1965 R. M. GRAVES 3,191,558

, HOSIERY FEEDER Filed Sept. 23, 1963 RALPH MGRAvEs ATTORNEY UnitedStates Patent 3,191,558 HOSIERY FEEDER Ralph M. Graves, 430 Clifty St.,Harriman, Tenn. Filed Sept. 23, 1963, Ser. No. 310,659 3 Claims- (Cl.112-2) This invention relates to a hosiery feeder for sewing the opentoe of hosiery on a sewing machine.

In the manufacture of hosiery, the hose is first knitted in tubular formand during the knitting a heavier gauge thread forms a top welt and toeand heel areas. After the knitting, the toe area must be closed to formthe toe of the hose and until recently the toe closing has beenperformed by specially skilled operators using a looping machine. Atpresent, most producers have employed a sewing machine in place of thelooping machine to sew the toe and at the same time remove the excesstoe welt in one operation.

When using a sewing machine the operator positions the tubular hose onthe work table in a flattened position with the center of the heelaligned with one of the edges of the flattened hose. The operator thenfeeds the heel beneath the presser foot of the sewing machine using onehand to guide the forward edge of the flattened hose and the other handfor guiding the rear edge. Although a skilled operator can sew about 180dozen pairs of hose per day, certain faults have been found to exist inthe present method. For example, as one hand moves close to the presserfoot and cutter of the sewing machine there is danger of the hand beinginjured. Also with both hands required for tensioning the fabric it ismore diflicult to guide the hose for sewing the toes at a uniform pointin the welt. Furthermore, since both hands of the operator are requireduntil the sewing is completed there is lost motion.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a hosiery feeder forsewing machines which will overcome the objections and faults of thepresent method employed in feeding the hosiery.

A further object of the invention resides in providing a feeder arm forsupporting hosiery mounted to oscillate in a horizontal plane above thework table so that its free end passes beneath the presser foot of thesewing machine, the feeder arm being automatically disengaged from thehosiery as the hosiery is advanced by the sewing machine after theinitial feeding by the arm.

A still further object of the invention resides in pivotally mountingthe feeder arm in a supporting bracket for free swinging movement, meansfor oscillating said bracket to swing the feeder arm in an arcuate pathtowards the presser foot of the sewing machine and means for returningsaid bracket to its normal position while leaving the feeder arm free toswing on its pivot.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent duringthe course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification and inwhich like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout thesame,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the general arrangement of thehosiery feeder on the work table of a sewing machine,

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the feeder arm showing the positions of thearm in operation,

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the feeder arm,

FIG. 4 in a section taken on line 44 of FIG. 3, and

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the actuating mechanism for oscillating thefeeder arm.

In the drawing, wherein for the purpose of illustration a preferred formof the invention is shown, the numeral 5 denotes a work table on which aconventional sewing machine 6 is mounted for use in sewing the toeportion of hosiery to form the toe. Mounted in front of the sewingmachine is a vertical shaft 7 having its lower end extending through thetop of the work table. Adjustable collars 8 and 9 are mounted on theshaft above and below the top of the table in bearing engagement withwashers 10 and 11 to support the shaft for rotation. The collars 8 and 9are adjustably secured to the shaft by set screws 12 and 13 to permitthe shaft to be adjusted vertically. Extending radially from oppositesides of collar 9 are arms 14 and 15 disposed in angular relation toeach other. The arm 15 has its free end connected by a link 16 to oneend of a coil spring 17 and the opposite end of the spring is attachedto the underside of the table top, as at 18. An adjustable stop bracket19 is attached to the underside of the table top forward of the arm 15by a screw 20 and limits the forward movement of the arm 15. The freeend of arm 14 is connected by a link 21 to one end of a cable 22 whichis trained over pulleys 23 with its opposite end connected to a footpedal 24 for actuating the cable to pull arm 14 in a rearward direction.

A collar 25 is adjustably mounted on the upper end of shaft 7 by a setscrew 26 and extending radially from the collar is an arm 27. A U-shapesupporting bracket 28 has one end fitted over arm 27 and is secured tothe arm by -a bolt 29 for longitudinal adjustment on the arm. The openside of the bracket faces the sewing machine and a feeder arm or bar 30has one end pivotally mounted in the open side of the bracket, as at 31,to freely swing towards and from the sewing machine. The free end 32 ofthe feeder arm is of reduced thickness to pass beneath the presser foot33 of the sewing machine when the feeder arm swings towards the sewingmachine.

In operation, the operator first slips the open toe-end welt of the hoseover the free end 32 of the feeder arm when in its normal position, asshown in full lines in FIG. 2. With one hand, usually the right hand,the operator tensions the fabric away from the arm 30 to flatten andstraighten the fabric. By rolling the rearward edge between the thumband finger, the rearward edge of the fabric can be aligned with thecenter line of the heel portion of the hose. Holding the fabric in thismanner and using the other hand to guide the hose in a transversedirection, the operator depresses the foot pedal 24 to rotate the shaft7 to swing the feeder arm to pass the free end 32 beneath the presserfoot 33, thus feeding the forward edge of the hose into engagement withthe fabricadvancing means of the sewing machine. At this point, the footpedal may be released permitting the shaft to return to its startingposition while swinging the feeder arm 30 on its pivot 31 to a positionthat permits the arm to be returned to its normal position withoutpassing under the presser foot.

During the sewing operation, once the left hand has guided the fabric soas to commence sewing at the proper position on the toe welt, this handis free to prepare the next hose to be mounted on the feeder arm. Inthis manner a rather large increase in the production rate is achieved.For example, production has been increased from about dozen pairs to 230dozen pairs per shift. Furthermore, more uniformity is achieved in thelength of the foot, the toe seam is more easily aligned with the centerof the heel and the sewing operation is safer.

It is' to be understood that the form of the invention herein shown anddescribed is a preferred example of the same and changes in the shape,size and arrangement of the parts may be made without departing from theinvention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A sewing machine attachment for feeding the toe portion of tubularhosiery to a sewing position preparatory to forming the toe closurecomprising a work table supporting the sewing machine, a shaft havingone end extending through the top of the work table, means mounting saidshaft in the top of said Work table for oscillating movement, a radialarm aflixed to the upper end of said shaft, a U-snape bracket having oneend adjustably connected to said arm, a feeder arm having one endpivotally mounted in the open side of said bracket for swinging movementin a horizontal plane above the work table, the free end of said feederarm being adapted to support the toe portion of the hosiery to be sewed,opposed radial arms extending from the lower end of said shaft beneaththe top of the Work table, a spring connected to the free end of one ofthe radial arms for biasing said shaft in one direction, a cableconnected to the free end of the other radial arm, and a foot pedalconnected to said cable for rotating said shaft against the bias of saidspring.

2. A sewing machine attachment as described in claim 1 including a stopbracket attached to the underside of said Work table in the path 'ofmovement of said radial arms to limit the oscillating movement of saidshaft.

3s A sewing machine attachment for feeding the toe portion of tubularhosiery to a sewing position preparatory to forming the toe closurecomprising, in combination with a sewing machine, a Work tablesupporting the sewin machine a vertical shaft havin its lower endrotatably mounted in the top of the work table, an elongated bracketaffixed to the upper end of said shaft and extending radially therefrom,said bracket being U-shape in cross section with the open side facingthe sewing machine, a feeder arm for supporting the toe portion of thehosiery to be sewed having one end pivotally mounted in the open side ofsaid bracket, midway the length of the bracket, to freeiy swing in thedirection of the sewing machine, said armbeing limited in its movementin the opposite direction by said bracket, and means for rotating saidshaft to swing -said bracket and feeder arm towards the sewing machine.

References Cited by the Exaer UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,597,686 5/52Turner et al 112102 2,649,975 8/53 Brooks 214-451 2,702,014 2/55Brownstein 112-2 3,073,267 1/63 Reeber et a1. 112-2 JORDAN FRANKLIN,Primary Examiner.

1. A SEWING MACHINE ATTACHMENT FOR FEEDING THE TOE PORTION OF TUBULARHOSIERY TO A SEWING POSITION PREPARATORY TO FORMING THE TOE CLOSURECOMPRISING A WORK TABLE SUPPORTING THE SEWING MACHINE, A SHAFT HAVINGONE END EXTENDING THROUGH THE TOP OF THE WORK TABLE, MEANS MOUNTING SAIDSHAFT IN THE TOP OF SAID WORK TABLE FOR OSCILLATING MOVEMENT, A RADIALARM AFFIXED TO THE UPPER END OF SAID SHAFT, A U-SHAPED BRCKET HAVING ONEEND ADJUSTABLY CONNECTED TO SAID ARM, A FEEDER ARM HAVING ONE ENDPIVOTALLY MOUNTED IN THE OPEN SIDE OF SAID BRACKET FOR SWINGING MOVEMENTIN A HORIZONTAL PLANE ABOVE THE WORK TABLE, THE FREE END OF SAID FEEDERARM BEING ADAPTED TO SUPPORT THE TOE PORTION OF THE HOSIERY TO BE SEWED,OPPOSED RADIAL ARMS EXTENDING FROM THE LOWER END OF SAID SHAFT BENEATHTHE TOP OF THE WORK TABLE, A SPRING CONNECTED TO THE FREE END OF ONE OFTHE RADIAL ARMS FOR BIASING SAID SHAFT IN ONE DIRECTION, A CABLECONNECTED TO THE FREE END OF THE OTHER RADIAL ARM, AND A FOOT PEDALCONNECTED TO SAID CABLE FOR ROTATING SAID SHAFT AGAINST THE BIAS OF SAIDSPRING.